Boyz n the Hood (1991)

The lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles.

Slice-of life approach with a great cast achieves both authenticity and heartfelt drama.

Halliwell**: "Episodic in form and over-schematic in its depiction of social difficulties, particularly those caused by absentee fathers, but it holds one's interest throughout."

Maltin***: "Sober, thoughtful look...Impressive debut...; longish, and not always on-the-money, but overall quite potent and effective."

Black Panther (2018)

T'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.

Although it grandly delivers all the goods of a superhero comic adaptation, the makers even more successfuly create an uplifting African myth and contrast it it with the realities of our current world.

London Has Fallen (2016)

In London for the Prime Minister's funeral, Mike Banning is caught up in a plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders.

A good example how non-stop action and pyrotechnics are necessarrily enough to make the result a good movie.

Survivor (2015)

A Foreign Service Officer in London tries to prevent a terrorist attack set to hit New York City, but is forced to go on the run when she is framed for crimes she did not commit.

Although the plot is far-fetched and quite contrived, it is well-made and quite suspenseful; and Brosnan finally gets a role as the bad guy he can bites his teeth into.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

A disgraced former Presidential guard finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, he works with national security to rescue the President from his kidnappers.

The similarities to White House Down are amazing, and this action thriller is just as silly, but by far not as much fun.

Maltin**1/2: "Nonstop action is the order of the day in this disaster film...The story is far-fetched and some of the characters deeply stereotyped but Fuqua keeps it all moving along; if you don't care about credibility it's reasonably entertaining, mindless fun."